Japanese media have reported that U.S. Marine Corps troops who began relocating from Okinawa to Guam late last year will begin moving to the barracks at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz in June.
Construction of facilities, including the barracks, continues at Camp Blaz, which officially opened in January 2022.
About 100 logistics personnel started arriving on Guam late last year, and currently houses at other military facilities on the island.
They are the first group among up to 5,000 Marines set to relocate to Guam, from Okinawa.
The relocation will honor treaty obligations with Japan to ease burden on local communities in Okinawa, and “secures a U.S. Marine Corps posture in the Indo-Pacific region that is more geographically distributed, operationally resilient, and politically sustainable,” Marine Corps earlier said.
The U.S. and Japan agreed in 2006 to transfer the Marines. The cost of the transfer is about $8.7 billion, and the Japanese government will cover up to $2.8 billion of that.
The Marine Corps has put nearly $1 billion toward a joint effort to revitalize Navy family housing around Guam, Camp Blaz earlier stated.
Single, enlisted Marines and sailors who are permanently stationed on Guam will live at bachelor quarters at Camp Blaz, along with “rotational forces” of all ranks, once forces arrive, according to the base.
Camp Blaz construction is expected to provide eight quarters for enlisted bachelors, housing a total of 4,784 Marines, the base earlier said.
Bachelor officer quarters will provide housing for another 388 Marines.
Family housing is also being constructed at Andersen Air Force Base, and permanently stationed Marines will stay either at Andersen, Naval Base Guam, or out in the community, according to Camp Blaz.
Once they arrive on Guam, Marines could potentially be working at Andersen, NBG, or Camp Blaz.
AloJapan.com